This is an area of my life where my
professional responsibilities and my own life experience are
inextricably linked.

People in Parliament are fond of
pointing out potential conflicts of interest with the
associated warning, /Walk Away!/

But I can not -- and will
not -- abdicate my responsibilities be they as a Minister of
State or as a mother, grandmother and great grandmother --
to advocate for all possible options to be explored when our
health and wellbeing is at stake.

And so I come to this
conference with many different hats.

I come as an
Associate Minister of Health, with delegated functions and
responsibilities for diabetes management.

And whilst I
have a great distaste for spouting statistics it is somewhat
staggering to learn that in 2008/09 the number of morbidly
obese New Zealanders aged between 15 -- 64 years, was
183,000.

Just to put some perspective on that -- that's a
population the entire size of Wellington or Waitakere city.
That doesn't even include the rapidly growing population of
our children who are being categorised as morbidly
obese.

That statistic is a huge challenge for our nation.
Within the Ministry of Health, and as Associate Minister, I
have encouraged the Ministry of Health to take the widest
possible view towards promoting and achieving dramatic
improvements in the outcome we seek for health and
wellbeing.

So we have supported public health initiatives,
education and skills training, behavioural therapies,
improvements to our understandings around nutrition
promotion; increasing participation in physical activity;
support for medical and health practitioners.

But it's a
bit like the constant merry-go-round of diets that are
constantly peddled out to the public -- no one size fits
all.

And so we have started taking a more proactive look
at publicly funded bariatric procedures -- that is the range
of procedures in place to treat obesity by modifying the
stomach or the intestines, to reduce nutrient intake or
absorption.

Now the moment I start to talk like that -- is
generally the moment an audience switches off!

And so that
is why I am so delighted that this conference has been
called, to make sense of all the technical terms by actually
demonstrating the impacts of weight loss surgery in
person.

This is also a wonderful opportunity to share the
great news that up to three hundred additional weight-loss
operations will be funded over the next four years.

What
that means in essence, is that approximately 75 New
Zealanders a year, for the next four years, will be able to
benefit from bariatric surgery.

The additional funding
costs two million dollars per year -- and in effect
increases the current number of operations done each year by
more than a quarter.

It's not nearly as much as we might
have hoped for -- but it is a great step in the right
direction.

We know, as a Government, that this surgery can
dramatically improve the quality of life, and reduce the
costs and the harms that can be associated with significant
weight gain.

But of course the surgical procedures won't
do it on their own.

And this is where it all comes back to
attitude.

Are we totally committed towards the new life
that weightloss surgery affords us?

Are we compelled to
share our good news with others; to provide encouragement
and support that the difference can be made?

Are we taking
the steps to ensure that the significant change we have
taken on through surgical intervention, will be
sustained?

How are we acting to ensure that our children
and our grandchildren will appreciate the significance of a
healthy lifestyle?

Ultimately it is in the interests of
our mokopuna that I made the decision to undertake bariatric
surgery towards the end of 2009.

It was the best and
hardest decision of my life.

At the beginning of that
year, I had been hospitalised yet again, by the havoc that
diabetes complications wreaked in my life.

I had a
particularly distressing kidney infection; was instantly
admitted, and the consultant and dietician sat down and had
a stern talk with me.

Hard as that was, it was nothing
compared to seeing my seven year grand-daughter crumple onto
my bed, sobbing like there was no tomorrow at the prospect
of losing me.

It gave me a huge fright.

And so after
talking with all our whanau, investigating all the options,
in the early morning of the 24^th November 2009 I underwent
gastric bypass surgery.

I'm not going to go into all the
details -- other than to say that I was surprisingly
painfree, and in fact amazed myself let alone the hospital
team about how quickly I was up and about.

But I have no
time to waste. I have an incredible little girl to keep me
active; an amazing husband who constantly reminds me to take
care of myself; a loving and devoted whanau who always watch
out for me, and encourage me to try not to work so hard, to
travel so much, to keep such long hours, and just to enjoy
life.

And when you have all those reasons to live for, it
is truly easy to say that the surgery was worth every single
cent; every single twinge of pain; every single change in my
life.

I love the new energy that has come with shedding
the weight; and I feel a great sense of responsibility to
continue to manage my lifestyle in a way which is healthy
and sustainable.

Of course it hasn't been easy. And I
have to say, again it comes back to attitude.

The other
day my friends watched me pace to and fro past a gap between
partitions, to assess whether I could wedge my body through
the space. In actual fact they told me there was plenty of
room either side -- but it was my perception that was
causing the block.

In much the same way, I find it hard to
move from my more generous wardrobe to the slimline
version.

And there are always times when I think perhaps I
could just eat that without it going down the wrong
way.

So there are challenges ahead, but there are also
endless possibilities and I have so much more room for
optimism.

I am so thrilled to have been able to share my
first year anniversary with such a responsive and
compassionate group of people as yourselves.

I wish you
all a wonderful day, I congratulate the Palmerston North
Weight Loss Support Group for your great initiative, and
let's all celebrate together the future we have shaped for
ourselves and our families.

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